Ice Dragon's Lament
by Rose Mistress
Summary: Requested by one of Master's old friends, Gray becomes the experiment of an artificial dragon lacrima. Unable to work with his new power as a second generation Dragonslayer, he was teamed up with Natsu for assistant but as the time goes by, the rival relationship began to take a new dynamic. And what's all this about dragon instinct? [revised ch 2]
1. Chapter 1

Zypher: So, I have returned from the dead -somewhat- and got the mojo back into writing stories. Sadly not for the section needed but it's a well off start for people to know I'm not dead yet. So getting myself caught up with Fairy Tail and the mass amounts of possibilities made ideas come and one was promising enough to work with. So I bring to you this which I hope turns out well for my first dip into the Fairy Tail category. Set after Fighting Festival arc and before Oracion Seis arc. Not going to follow storyline unless people really and I mean _really_ want to see it happen.

Summary: Requested by one of Master's old friends, Gray becomes the experiment of an artificial dragon lacrima. Unable to work with his new power as a second generation Dragonslayer, he was teamed up with Natsu for assistant but as the time goes by, the rival relationship began to take a new dynamic. And what's all this about dragon instinct?

Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail and will not be making money off this fiction.

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Ice Dragon's Lament

Chapter 1

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In the country of Fiore, in the bustling town of Magnolia lies the guild Fairy Tail. Within the rebuilt walls of the guild lies the rowdiest bunch of wizards you ever did see but despite such a fact, they get the job done. The worst of the bunch was Team Natsu consisting of Erza, Gray, Lucy and finally, the dragonslayer known as Natsu. The stellar spirit mage was currently at the request board, looking for something to do that will help begin to pay her rent for the month, humming thoughtfully as she looked for something easy that she could do on her own. "Ah, just who I wanted to see." Makarov, the guild leader, spoke as he came up to the mage. "Ah, hello Master. How are you?"

"Fine, just fine. Quite a hectic few days but everything is going quite well. But I must ask, do you know where Gray is?" he questioned. Before she could answer, the resounding thud of a body hitting the floor and the crackle of ice and fire magic in the air alerted the two of yet another spar between the fire and ice wizards. Lucy gave a sigh before nodding down to the first floor. "There's your answer." she muttered tiredly, trying to wonder if there was ever a time the two WOULDN'T spar with each other the moment eye contact was made. Makarov huffed as he turned, hopping onto the banister and looked down to where the two were now throwing punches instead of magic, one table iced while another was half charred.

"Damn exhibitionist!"

"Stupid slanty-eyes!"

"Enough! Stand down **NOW**!" Makarov thundered, causing the hall to go quiet and the two fighting to freeze in their places. "Enough roughhousing, Gray. I have a request for you." he spoke and Natsu whined irritably. "Why does **HE** get a request, huh?!" Natsu inquired with a huff. "Because this calls for an ice mage and he's the only one we have available." The Master spoke, sitting on the banister. Gray huffed, dusting off his pants as his shirt had gone missing during the brawl. "As long as it isn't another hotel asking for air conditioning services." Gray grumbled in irritation as he remembered the last time he took on such a request during one of Magnolia's heat spells. "No, no! Not at all! I have a friend you see, and he's been looking for an ice wizard that would provide some help with his latest test. We haven't spoken in a while so it was quite a shock for him to get in contact with me with such. You will be paid for the time spent so you aren't working for free."

Gray hummed and gave a nod. "Sure, I need some time to myself and get away from flame breath here." he said, jabbing a thumb at Natsu who was still pouting over Gray getting a solo request.

"Wonderful! I'll write up the directions to his place immediately so you can go!" Makarov said excitedly as he hopped off the banister to do just that. Lucy hummed as she listened to the exchange and wonder just what this friend of the Master had planned for Gray. She knew well enough the other could handle whatever was tossed at him but for some reason, there was a niggling feeling at the back of her mind that something strange was about to happen. Once the map was written, Gray was on his way out. Makarov smiled as he watched him leave while Natsu continued to pout as he sat at the bar. "Oh stop, Natsu. If you're really bummed about your fight being cut short, you can just start it up again when he gets back." Lucy said as she walked over to him. "Come on, you can join me for my request if you promise to not cause any damage to the area. I like to actually get my reward and not have to pay for something you wreck."

He sighed but nodded, a grin plastered on his face. "Got it! Let's go, Happy!" he called as he went to grab his bag. "Aye sir!"

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"Oh Makarov, you gullible old fool. Finally my dream shall be realized thanks to your assistance. For years I have watched your little ice mage grow and improve with his magic and became the strong maker mage he is today. Now, he is finally ready for the next step." A voice spoke, a glowing crystal gleaming from the pedestal it sat on behind him, radiating the great energy of an artificial dragon.

"He is finally ready to step up and take on the power of a dragon..."

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Gray sighed as he looked at the map after stepping off the train into Onibus. "Now...where to go from here..." he muttered as he began to walk through the town towards the outskirts of the town. "Walk a few miles out and I should see a house there. I'll meet Master's old acquaintance there who supposedly has a job for me. This better be something worth the trip." he muttered as he began walking to find the place that Makarov told him was supposed to be there. It was an hour, he felt, by the time he spotted the rooftop of a single villa. "Well, guy must be loaded." he hummed as he went down the beaten path of the hill that overlooked the villa and made it to the door. He knocked and waited a few before the door opened on its own and he blinked, guarding himself just in case something suspicious happens outside of meeting the guy.

He looked around, seeing the house was well cared for, not a speck of dust anywhere in sight although the lack of maids or butlers still got to him as he walked. "Hey! Anybody home!? I'm a member of Fairy Tail that was requested by the Master to come out here!" he called as he stopped in the spacious foyer and waited for any sort of sign or answer of someone being there. "Ah, welcome welcome Gray Fullbuster~" A voice spoke from within the vacant walls. "Why did you call me here?" he questioned. "Just for a simple job. Nothing too serious at all. I just need to borrow you and your magic for a few days." The voice spoke once more. Gray sighed at the time he was given. _'So much for this being a quick job.'_ he thought. "Alright then. Since it was the request of the Master." he replied and the voice chuckled.

"Thank you, Gray. Now, follow the floating lights and you'll be where I'll need you." he said as the dimly lit lights floated down a single hallway off to the side and he began to follow them.

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A week later, people at the guild hall began to talk. There was no word from Gray or the man that the Master knew so well which began to worry the elder mage. "He should've been back or at least been heard from by now." Makarov murmured which didn't escape the sensitive hearing of Natsu whose knee bounced with anticipation. For what he didn't know but with the lack of any word from the ice mage, he expected the Master to send him out with possibly Lucy or Erza to find out what was wrong. Lucy sat down where he was, nursing a cool drink in her hands. "So, what do you think is up?" she questioned, knowing what would be on the fire mage's mind.

"There's something suspicious about this guy Master says he knows so well. Not like I care but even for someone like that exhibitionist, if something was fishy, he would've been out of there by now." he said as he looked to Lucy. She nodded. "You're right...this isn't like Gray." she said softly. "Well as much as we would like to do something, that's up to the Master. We don't know the location of this man or what to even begin searching for that will lead us to Gray. We'll just have to sit and wait to see what will happen next." Erza said as she walked over. "Are you not the slightest bit worried though?" Lucy asked.

"I am terribly worried but fretting over what could be done isn't the best option right now." she said, crossing her arms. Lucy sighed but nodded in response as she took a sip of her drink while Natsu continued to sit there, grinding his teeth and his leg bouncing even more before he couldn't stay quiet anymore and jumped up. "Come on, Gramps! Isn't there something any of us can do!?" he called and Makarov sighed. "I know you along with everyone else is worried about Gray but I want to trust my judgment on things. I'll give it three more days and if I don't hear any word from either, I will send out three of you to his villa to investigate." he said. "Three days!? And what if something goes wrong any more than it has during the week!?" Natsu protested vehemently. "Natsu, calm yourself. You know the Master would have good reason to do such. It would be pointless to send out people to find Gray and he ends up coming back while the group is gone." Erza murmured and he growled but sat back in his seat. Erza will never learn why the dragon slayer was so peeved but could only chalk it up to the fact that he wanted to continue the fight from before that was left unfinished between the fire and ice mage.

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Back at the villa, the man that Makarov called friend watched over Gray who rested in a glass cage. The other was knocked out and had been for quite a while now but the results that the man wanted to see was promising. Frost had collected on the glass as the magic surrounded the ice mage in a gentle mist, forearms encased in ice like scales and his fingers ending off with deadly claws. "Perfect, simply perfect. My project is coming along nicely. Took a few brutal screams but in the end, he is almost complete. The Ice Dragon's dragonforce is positively magnificent." Gray groaned softly as he began to wake and went to place a hand over his head. "Ugh...what happened..."

"Ah, sorry Fullbuster. But you were particularly rowdy so I had to tranquilize you to continue on with my project, you see." The man spoke. The other blinked, his mind a muddled mess but as he brought his hand down and saw what had happened, he jumped up quickly only to fall back from the dizzy spell he suffered from his quick movements, "What...what did you do to me..."

"I had asked Makarov about you. A fine specimen of an ice maker mage. I wanted to see that power for myself and the possibilities of merging your power with that of a dragon. So for years, while you became stronger and stronger, I worked and worked to create the ice dragon lacrima that is now merged within you. A little unstable but with the proper training, you will become a fine ice dragon slayer." he said with a rattling chuckle. Gray growled as his magic began to pour out, the mist rising and frost creeping over the glass more. "You won t get away with this!" he snarled, leaping up once more to punch at the frost covered glass but hardly left a mark.

"Ah ah, I took into account of freezing and shattering the glass, you see. I made sure it was reinforced well enough to handle your power. You could be stronger but as you recover, you are nothing but weak." he spoke once more. "Master will never approve of this from you. To hurt his children is asking for a beat down." he snarled as he back from the glass, falling to one knee from overexerting himself. "Perhaps...but I will be long gone by the time you leave here."

"Not if he sends someone out for me...for something simple as a visit with no communication...he won't sit around for long before sending someone here to retrieve me. We'll just have to play the waiting game." he murmured. The man only chuckled again before walking off. "Indeed, indeed. But you'll be gone long before a group can find my villa, you see." he spoke before leaving through the large wooden doors, bringing silence into the room once more. Gray sighed before looking to his arms and sighed. "How the hell am I'm going to control this.." he murmured. After his encounter with dragon slayers before, he knew a bit already of what changes he'll have to deal with now. Problem is the will to control all of it on his own. He knew well enough Natsu would be a complete dimwit on teaching him what there is to know about dragonslayer magic and he still barely trusted Gajeel even after his assistance with Laxus during the festival.

He sighed and sat there, waiting for the longhaul of things but he may as well see what he can do on his own before the crazy mage came back to run tests on him.

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Zypher: And as I reach the end, I come to the conclusion of the first chapter sounds botched. -sigh- Well, I'll leave it to the readers to see. The idea of Gray being an ice dragonslayer had been niggling the back of my mind for a while so I say, why not. Of course, writing the first chapter with me is doubt anyone would find interest in it and be rid of it within the week. -shrugs- Let's see what you all say. If you like, we'll have another chapter. Don't like, then it s off to the scrap heap and leave it as a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Ice Dragon's Lament

Chapter 2

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The next day, Gray groaned softly as he woke to a meal sitting before him along with a bucket of ice sitting next to the tray. "Eat that all up, Gray. I want to soon begin the tests of your new-found ice power." The man spoke and he growled in annoyance but did appreciate the fact that man was willing to go out of his way to at least make a meal for him. _'I just hope Master sends someone out soon. I don't want to think of the consequences if I don't meet his expectations with this damn lacrima inserted into me.'_ he thought as he began to eat. "You know you won't be able to get away with this for long once Master finds out what you did and left him with no word about my whereabouts or condition." he muttered in between bites of the fish platter sitting before him. "That is true but by the time I'm finished with you, I will be gone, you see." the mage spoke with a chuckle. He growled once more but he continued to eat, knowing that if he could possibly gather enough strength, he could break out of here himself._ 'But if not...send someone quick, Master...'_ he thought silently to himself.

0

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Happy questioned as the other mage sat on the bed in Lucy's home. "I can't take this waiting bullshit! Gramps needs to let us go and beat the crap out of this guy! Friend or not! He hurts a member of Fairy Tail, he hurts each and every one of us!" he said vehemently. "Wow, Natsu. You must be really worried about Gray, aren't you?" The cat questioned. "N-no! He's just being a stupid, weak snow cone if he can't escape some crazy guy's villa after a week!" he defended. Happy only giggled in that knowing way, making Natsu flush in embarrassment. It was a well-guarded secret even from Happy that Natsu was infinitely worried about Gray than most would've suspected out of him. It wasn't because of their rivalry or them being guild members but something much deeper, something primal with his dragon instincts. He didn't know what it could possibly be but he was sure that whatever it was, it would make itself prominent later on once the ice mage was safely back in familiar territory.

"Do you think Gray will be alright?" Happy asked softly. "I'm sure he will. He's a Fairy Tail wizard after all. We took harder hits before and nothing will knock him down." Natsu said proudly before defending himself for the blunt praise he just gave to Gray which made Happy snicker.

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As the sun rose into the midday sky, Gray still sat in his impenetrable cage. Magic still exuded from his form, his body still trying to control the raging power of the dragon he was now one with but it was still a trying process. He heard the mage outside bustling about, tweaking things and making notes as he watched him like an animal. He hated this greatly, the feeling of being helpless, unable to do a single thing to save someone, even if that someone is himself. He flashed back to when he was only a small child, training under Ur's tutelage alongside Lyon after his home was struck by the rampaging might of Deliora. How he tried his hardest to contend with the demon with the killing spell Iced Shell until he was stopped by Ur who took the fall for him to free him from the darkness that was Deliora. He could feel the tears pricking his eyes but refused to shed them while stuck in this cage.

The freezing mist poured out more from his form, causing the glass the frost up more and the mage only chuckled as he watched the phenomenon with a critical gaze. He saw the look and growled as he tried to force his body to suppress the power slipping from him. _'I need to control this...the sooner I can...the faster I can try to get out of here and get back to Fairy Tail...'_ he thought to himself. "At least there were no side effects to inserting the lacrima into your body. Good, good." The mage spoke quietly as he moved over to the box that held the irate ice mage turned dragonslayer. "But you must learn to control your ice magic. If you don't, you might end up freezing someone important to you, you see. I'm sure you wouldn't want that. If I had calculated my number right, you freezing someone would be equivalent to the power of Iced Shell..."

When those words had left the mage's mouth, he looked up in shock. He seen firsthand what Iced Shell could do and for him to have that power within him without the risk of sacrificing his body frightened him. To freeze someone for life...to run that risk to the guild members of Fairy Tail. He could only imagine the damage it would do if he froze Lucy or Reedus, heaven forbid the raging fire mage Natsu or even the Master himself. He looked down quietly and the mage tsked. "Now now, this is why you're in here and not out there. For the next couple days under my watchful eye, we'll work on taming that power. I still have many tests to conduct on you so having you run off just won't do."

The ice mage didn't look up, he kept his head lowered as the mist came out in a thicker mass, covering the glass box he was trapped in completely in blinding frost that the mage couldn't gaze inside. The mage huffed and moved over to a machine that was hooked up to the box. Typing in a few keys, he turned back to the box as the machine roared to life. Inside, Gray couldn't see what was going on thanks to his own power obscuring his view of what the twisted man that caught him was planning. Vents at the top of the glass cage opened up and hissed in warning of whatever was about to come. Gray looked up to the vents and shot up, preparing for whatever was to come at him. But instead, blasts of red hot heat came from the vents, making him hiss in annoyance. It was nothing compared to Natsu's flames but as an ice mage, fire was one of his least favorite things to contend with as it messed with his normally low body temperature from his ice magic.

And being in a confined space with two vents letting out the temperate heat wasn't helping him any. He began to sweat, his collar slowly becoming damp as he tried to move from the path of the heat coming from the vents. Breath ragged, he turned to the glass encasing him and began to bang on it, to alert the mage that he had enough. He didn't know whether this was punishment or a way to calm down the leaking ice magic he couldn't grip but the heat was becoming stifling. Strands of raven clung to his forehead and the back of his neck as he panted and clawed at the glass now, chipping away frost and ice as he felt himself weakening.

_Too much...too stifling..._

He gasped as he collapsed onto his knees, strength leaving him as he banged on the glass more. He could feel the rivulets of water make a soft splash as he continued to hit the glass, the frost and ice melting away at a rapid pace as the box heated up more and more from the vents. Finally able to see through the frost and ice, he saw the mage who watched, a wicked smile on his face as he watched his suffering. "He...he's twisted..." he gasped before the heat finally overwhelmed him as he slid down the glass wall that separated him from freedom of the outside world, his sight fading slowly to black as he watched the mage finally turn off the vents and their decimating heat and walk away. leaving him passed out in the humid conditions that his magic couldn't penetrate as weak as he had gotten.

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When he woke, the temperature was back to a reasonable state but he couldn't help by feel sick to his stomach as he moved to sit up. Another bucket of ice sat in the cage but the mage was nowhere to be found. He looked around to find anything, a window or clock that could tell him how long he was out for. But the lack of anything in the room left him clueless and he sighed as he pulled the bucket over to him and munched on the ice in silence. But as he reached out, obsidian eyes widened in shock as he saw the cuffs resting on his wrists. "The hell!?" he gasped as he tugged at them. It was then the presence of a weight around his neck made him realize that a collar was fastened around his neck as well. "Damn you..." he hissed in anger as he tried to pull at the collar, his hands beginning to cast some of his magic before a voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that, you see...trying to pry them off with magic will only shock you..."

He removed his hands quickly as the prickling sensation of a shock touched his flesh and his gritted his teeth. "It's a shame, I know, Gray. But I must keep you in line, you see. You get out of control and my research will never be completed."

"Why are you doing this to me!? For what purpose do you have in turning me into a dragonslayer?!"

"That is for my research, you see." Was the only answer he received and that made Gray that much angrier as he stood, excess magic leaking once more and frosting the bottom of the cage. "You bastard!" he roared as he aimed a punch for the glass despite the lack of effort that it would do. The mage tsked again and pressed a button on the controller that his eye missed and he cried out in pain as a shock ripped through him from his neck and arms. He stumbled back before falling, arms clasping his jumping muscles as he panted before glancing to the mage who walked towards the cage. "The power to shock you rests at my fingers, you see. Hopefully this will make you a little complacent to the things I need you to do..."

He growled once more and let out a breath as he curled up instead, listening as the mage went about his business with whatever he had planned for the new dragonslayer.

0

Happy watched Natsu quietly over the first day. He wasn't the same and he couldn't help but he surprised over the amount of worry and anxiety that the fire dragonslayer was showing for the one tha is usually label as his rival. The morning he had woken to see Natsu pacing throughout the tiny space in their small cottage in the forest, a calculating gaze on his face. Happy was glad the mage didn't wear a hole into the floor but he got up and asked what was wrong. Natsu says it was nothing but his eyes betrayed his words but Happy refused to press on the matter and went to start on breakfast. Arriving at the guild proved to be just the same but instead of pacing, Natsu sat at a table, a fire shake in hand and his leg bouncing restlessly. Happy munched on his fish as he sat on the table, looking up only when Lucy came over to sit down.

"What's with him?"

"He's worried about Gray. Maybe in truth, he liiiikes him~" Happy said with that teasing slur.

"I'm not worried and I definitely don't like him!" Natsu protested as he glared at his buddy and Happy only laughed to get a reaction out of his friend instead of him just sitting there. "Well, Happy could have a point. You've been doing nothing but sitting here, quietly nonetheless, which is very uncommon for you." Lucy said. "We're all worried for Gray so you're not the only one that wants to go out and find him but the master said to wait so we'll wait." she said. "Since that's all we really can do since only he knows where his friend's villa is."

"But this is stupid! If someone is in danger, we don't just sit here and twiddle our thumbs! We go out and kick some ass!"

"Natsu, pipe down. I know you want to go help Gray but my friend has already proved to be an unpredictable man. Sending anyone there now without sort of plan could end up having Gray hurt." Makarov spoke. "And you think he's not being hurt right now?! Come on, gramps! Just let me go and find the guy!"

"You will stay put for two more days and if nothing changes, I'll send you out!"

Natsu growled in annoyance, clenching the mug tight in his hand to the point that it began to splinter. He couldn't think of a time that he would be this angry at the master. He got angry at him plenty of times before when he tried to make things go his way either with something trivial as a S class quest, being interrupted in the middle of a fight - although for the record, if things were getting broken faster than they could be replaced, he couldn't really get angry over being stopped from breaking another wall or table - but this...

This he just couldn't explain and that in itself scared him a little.

Yes he and Gray were rivals, the ever classic opposites butting heads when rubbed the wrong way, fire and ice which never mixes, but Gray was still a comrade, a nakama, a member of Fairy Tail and Fairy Tail leaves no man - or woman - behind.

Lucy had watched the exchanged quietly and could feel Natsu's rage radiating off of him - or maybe it was his fire magic - and she was concerned if the other could really wait those three days before making a move.

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When Gray was compliant, the mage took him from the cage, a finger held over the button of the switch just in case he tried something. Gray followed, feeling disgusted as feeling nothing short of a dog being led by a leash. He looked around, seeing door upon door and began to wonder where each one led to. 'Is this even a villa? How huge can one damn place be and looked as if it has hallways that never end...' he thought to himself as the mage stopped and he stopped as well. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Come in, Gray."

He would've very well liked to refuse that option but with a finger on the trigger to cause him a great deal of pain, he stepped into the room, the door closing behind him and a single light turning on. He looked to that spot, devoid of any machinery or traps but was still a tad skeptical since there was only one light illuminating the room and nothing else that he could see. He knew next to their exceptional sense of smell and hearing, dragonslayers had good optical vision but with the way things are, he being a fledgling dragonslayer, his eyes were still that of a human's normal eyesight.

"Well? Go on. And you know what will happen if you refuse so don't question me."

He growled but obeyed, taking slow steps and stepped under the light in the room. The mage smirked from the shadows before chains shot out, catching the restraints on his arms and his gasped. "What are you doing!?"

"We need to gauge your new power. A glass cage could never give me a good reading so we'll do it here." he replied, more lights coming on and blinding Gray temporarily but when his vision came back, he saw a slew of machines around him and sitting above him a lacrima wired to one of them. "Now, that lacrima will absorb whatever you do so go on, exude your power." The mage whispered. Gray physically refused to move, having enough with being used as a guinea pig and the mage tsked. "To force my hand, you know better, you know..." he whispered as he pressed he button and a piercing scream ripped from Gray's throat as he was shocked, his dragon power leaking from his body and freezing the ground around him as the magic began to move upward into the lacrima above. Nodding, the mage moved over to the machine and began tapping a few keys before turning back to Gray.

Clenching his teeth in anger, gray sent a cold glare to the mage. His anger was at an all-time high and he was ready to ice this mage to hell. Forgetting momentarily of where he was and the position he was in, he moved his hand in his familiar ice make pose.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

The shots were fired but only crawled such a short distance before flying upwards and being absorbed into the lacrima. "No...Damn it no!" he cried as he tried once more to attack the mage only to come to the same result. "Yes...keep going...keep going!" The mage said with glee as the numbers filled the screen and he read them earnestly. To see such a sickening sight at the price of his pain and exhaustion made the ice mage even angrier, causing his dragon power to react in the same manner, billowing mist of freezing magic gathering around him and slowly drifting up into the lacrima. The room dropped a few degrees and still dropping, ice coating machinery and the floor but the machines were hardly showing any signs of malfunctioning. They continued to hold strong, continue to collect his data, continued to provide this sick, twisted man with answer for his research.

_Stop it..._

Gray struggled in his binds, ice coating the chains but they were resilient. Even for subzero temperature, where even the slightest tug would make a frozen item crumble away, they held strong.

_Stop it..._

He glanced up to the mage once more, face cloaked in shadows and making him look that much evil. _'You're not a friend of the master...you're a monster...'_

_Stop it..._

"Don't give me such a hateful glare, Gray. This is all for my research." he spoke, pressing the button again to shock the other mage.

_**"Stop it!"**_ he roared, the ice dragon power being unleashed and a raging blizzard erupted into the room, uncontrolled and fierce. Ice coated the floor, walls and ceiling, chunks of ice shot up from the ground, a few short of missing the mage's precious technology. The lacrima above, despite getting frozen as the magic raged through the room, still collected its data, numbers shooting through the roof. He cried out in pain and anger more ice shooting up from the floor as ice crawled up his arms and over his face. The mage watched intensely, grinning a little to himself.

_'Dragon Force...the ultimate form of a dragonslayer's magic...'_

Flexing muscles with strength he didn't know he had, Gray broken through his chains but the rings stayed. That was hardly a passing thought through his rage addled mind, glaring at the mage before lunging for him, ice claws poised for the attack. The mage didn't move, only watched as he came closer and closer. "Sleep." he said, raising a hand and snapped his fingers, a ring coming to life with magic and cast its effects onto Gray. Out like a light, his lunge faltered and the mage stepped aside to watch the ice make mage hit the floor, sliding across it a short distance before coming to a stop. "You will become a troublesome one with that anger but as long as I get my results, your anger would be the least of my problems..." he murmured to himself before dragging the other back to his cell.

0

Like a bolt running through his form, Natsu shot up from where he had his head laying on the table, making Happy jump. "What's wrong...?" he asked softly. "N-nothing..." Natsu replied just as soft as he rested his head on his crossed arms. He felt something tug viciously, like instinct was telling him something...something about Gray. Oh how he could wish to read into them more, maybe even have them lead him to the bastard that is asking to have his skull smashed in by the fire mage. He sighed as he buried his face into his arms, ignoring the once again rowdy beer hall.

From where she sat, Erza watched him. This was still highly unusual manners with the fire mage and she still couldn't place her finger on why Natsu was so worried over Gray._ 'Could it be that he likes him in that way...no...Natsu couldn't possibly see Gray in that light. Lisanna or Lucy would be more fitting for Natsu's type...'_ she thought to herself and hummed._ 'Hopefully two more days won't make him fly off the handle.'_ She watched Natsu for a moment longer, seeing that it looked as if the other fell asleep at the table and moved her attention back to the untouched strawberry cake sitting before her.

_Save me...claim me...love me..._

The unheeded words thrummed through Natsu's mind and he sighed, wishing to follow that voice and those words but with no leads, it would be a fruitless effort. As much as he hated the idea, he just has to sit and wait.

_'Gray...'_

0

The next day, food was left in the cage for Gray who ate it quietly even though he rather refuse the offer. But as much as he wanted to, he felt as if he did, he would get less and less til he had to obey completely and bend to the mage's whims just for a meal. He already sunk this low, he didn't want to sink further. A tap on the glass made him look up and he growled as he watched the other. "What did I tell you about giving me such a hateful glare?"

"Piss off..." he grumbled as he tore into the meat, looking away from the mage.

"I would but then you'll never know how to keep yourself from freezing your friends or your guild hall. Skill training will begin soon so finish up." he said before leaving the cage and Gray punched the floor. Helpless, that's all he could feel the longer he was trapped. He knew he could probably muster up the power to break free. He was sure that the ice dragon lacrima plus his own ice make magic could exceed well over the mage's expectations of what he could do. Only problem is not just the collar and cuffs he wore but what the mage was capable of. Sleep magic was one after yesterday but he didn't dare to think of what else the mage had planned if he tried for an escape. The size of the inside compared to the villa from the outside made him doubly suspicious and he rather be sure of an escape route than to run around infinite hallways trying to find a way out.

After he finished the food, he sat back and waited for the mage, closing his eyes as he was left to the quiet of his thoughts.

Time passed and a tap made him jump before he looked up to the mage watching him once more, controller in hand as he opened the seamless door that led to freedom. He stood and walked out quietly and watched as the mage walked off. He watched his back, a fist clenching at his side as his magic began to leak, dropping the temperature a few degrees. Not seeing a reaction to the drop, Gray had gotten an idea and he hoped it would work. Training be damned, once he was out of here and back to the guild, trying to keep a handle on the leaking magic until he was accustomed to it can be worked on with the help of Makarov. With that ploy in mind, he made his move.

Following the other mage, he was quiet, watching and calculating. Once in the hall, he made his strike. Raising his hands up quickly to the confining walls on both sides, he unleashed a wave of ice magic, a trail shooting towards where the mage was before making deadly icicles that jutted from the wall. A normal person wouldn't be able to dodge being impaled to death but when the wisps of cold air dispersed, the cloak remained torn in the icicles but the mage was in the air.

"If I wasn't already aware of your incessant need to harm me, that could've very well killed me." he spoke as the hall shifted, the ice crumbling with the shifting walls and they ended up in an open room of wood and steel. Magic circles appeared on the ground before floating lacrima appeared. "Now, your fight lessons begin...now!"

The lacrima shot forward, unleashing a barrage of different elemental magic. Fire, water, lightning, earth...all came flying right for him and he quickly retaliated with an ice shield. "The hell!" he gasped in annoyance as the lacrima moved about him quick as a whip, still shooting magic at him from all angles that made him shield and leap from getting hit. One dodge from a lightning bolt had him get hit into the nearby wall from a burst of fire and he groaned as he slid to the floor.

"For the strongest ice mage of Fairy Tail, your skills seem to be subpar at best..." The mage murmured. "Shut up! You don't know anything!" Gray snarled as he moved to stand and watched the oncoming lacrima which sent out their magic directed right at him.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

The needlepoint lances stabbed through each lacrima, shattering them with ease and he sighed in relief before grunting as he was impacted from the side, another lacrima with three more appearing from more magic circles. "Don't stop there...you still have much work to do before you are done, you see." Slowly standing, he watched the lacrima with dark eyes before growling as he shot forward, the dragon taking over and he began to lunge at them with claws of ice and large masses of icicles that began to cover the room. The mage cackled as he watched him fight, seeing the power that was beginning to grow exceptionally. _'A little longer...force him to get angrier and soon, the last attack I must see will finish my research...'_ The mage thought as Gray continued to fight as more lacrima was destroyed, more taking their place as they hit the ground.

For the next few hours, that's how Gray's day progressed until the lacrima finally came to a stop and sweating profusely, a tired out ice mage collapsed on the ground, his magic nearly used up. "Marvelous, simply marvelous. But we still have a bit of work to do. Tomorrow should be the day my research is complete..." he spoke as he walked over to Gray only to step back as a claw swiped out for his legs. "Still have some fight in you, I see..." he murmured before pressing the button on the controller, making Gray cry out in pain. He ice mage panted heavily before making a sound as he was grabbed by the collar around his throat and dragged off back to his cell once more. Tossed inside, the glass door slid close and he sighed as he laid where he was tossed, too exhausted to put up much of a fight at this point.

"Food will be brought later and tomorrow, you're training will be increased two fold." he spoke before leaving and Gray sighed and buried his head into his arms.

0

The next day, Gray was brought into a different room, this one not as open as the last as it held another glass cage, larger than the one he was stuck in but he could tell what its purpose was going to be used for from the wiring and the large machine sitting next to it. The mage forcibly ushered Gray into the cage before the door slid close and he moved over to the machine to start it up to read his power levels. Gray glared at the mage silently before cracking his knuckles, knowing he best be prepared for he wasn't going to escape this any time soon. "See what a little cooperation would lead you to? At least I know I won't have to force you to fight." The mage stated as magic circles appeared and the lacrima appeared from them before beginning their attack and Gray followed, using his ice make magic over the dragon magic the mage wanted to see. The mage watched, seeing tha the other was refusing to use his dragon magic and couldn't have that so with a press of a button, the battlefield changed.

Gray could feel something was wrong in the air and his fears were confirmed as the lacrima came at him with heavier attacks, a good percentage of them hitting him after dodging his ice make magic. For each one destroyed, another came and made its attack, hitting him in the back or side and prompted the others to follow. He tried his best to shield and attack but the more he tried, the easier it was for the lacrima to counter and return a shot. _'Damn it...he planned this so I couldn't get away with not showing what he wants...'_ he thought, clenching a fist as a light mist covered it. He swung out as a lacrima came shooting for him, same lacrima flying back as a chunk of ice from the connected punch coursed over the smooth surface before it fell, shattering to pieces. The others that gotten close, trying to fire off one of its elemental magic attacks at him only to meet a punch or kick that left them coated in ice and hitting the ground.

_'Perfect...just perfect...but I must see more...the ultimate attack...'_

He raised a hand, summoning more lacrima, a number than Gray couldn't handle with punches and kicks alone. Not with all of them aiming right for him without rest. He glared at the mage and then to the opponent before him. Then a forbidden thought came to his mind, as he remembered the many times he traveled with this particular team and his own sparring matches.

_What would Natsu do...?_

The lacrima moved and flew straight for him. He growled before taking a large intake of breath, the temperature inside and out decreasing rapidly and the mage watched eagerly, seeing that he was about to do just what he wanted to see. Eyes snapped opened, revealing an icy hue instead of the normal dark blue as he unleashed the blast, a great gust of subzero ice and wind aimed for the lacrima, diffusing the attacks that were coming at him and froze the lacrima, causing them to drop like flies and shatter on the ground. He panted heavily, collapsing to a knee and he took gasping breaths. 'Powerful and simply deadly...to freeze opponents into another ice age. I have indeed created the ultimate hybrid.' The mage thought with a grin. 'He may be of more use than a test subject. You've raised a fine mage, Makarov.'

Gray glanced back to the mage and saw the positively gleeful glance watching him and gulped a bit._ 'This guy is nuts...I need to get out of here...and fast...'_

0

When the three days were up and no word from Gray or the mage that had him, Makarov made his decision as he stood before the guild. "We have a situation of great urgency that must be taken care of with haste. I will send a team of three to go fetch Gray Fullbuster from the clutches of a man that I had once called a friend." Makarov spoke and Natsu gave a holler that they were finally able to do something. "Come on gramps, let me go with the search team!" Natsu said as he ran over to where he stood. "That was my plan along with Lucy and Erza." he told him and Natsu gave a wide grin.

"Awesome! Let's go Happy!"

"Aye!"

The two ran out the door and Makarov shook his head as the two women came to him and he wrote down the location of the mage's villa. "Natsu has been waiting for this for quite some time." Lucy murmured as she took the paper. "Do you think he sincerely worries for Gray's health?" she questioned as she looked to Erza. "As a mage of Fairy Tail, even with all the scraps we get into with each other, we don't ever leave a mage behind." she said. "Now where do we need to go?" Lucy looked at the paper and gulped before looking to the door.

"Natsu doesn't know we need to take a train, does he?"

-few minutes later-

"I...hate...trains..." Natsu mumbled as he tried to avoid losing it on the moving vehicle.

Happy shrugged his shoulders. "So much for that bravado earlier." he said with a sigh.

0

"Hmm, seems like they are moving sooner than I had intended. Looks like my experiments will have to be at a standstill for the moment." The mage murmured before looking to the cage. "Our acquaintanceship is cut ever so short but don't worry, for we will meet again. For now, don't slack on your newfound powers for you see...you'll never know when you may need such a thing." the mage spoke once more and Gray could only growl.

"Piss off..." he grunted as he stood up shakily. "Now now, no need for hostility. Look at how much you've grown over the course of time." Gray gave him a scathing glare at the remark. "You will pay for this. If not by my hand then the hand of Fairy Tail and the master." he growled as his dragon power began to exude from his form, causing the glass to once again frost over. "They can try but I wouldn't expect a lot from them." he said with a chuckle. Gray growled once more as he punched at the glass once more but it didn't yield. "You can keep trying that but it would prove a fruitless effort you see..." The mage eyes widened as he continued to watch as Gray kept hitting at the glass, seeing a hairline fracture show among the frosted glass. _'No...it can't be...'_ The mage saw the trouble and began to look for the remote that controlled Gray's collar and cuffs but it was too late.

A roar ripped from the other mage, the glass finally yielding and shattered, freeing Gray as he leapt out from the cage. He glared over at the mage. "You will pay for this..." he whispered as he moved into his usual ice make position. "Ice Make: Lance!" The mage growled before casting his own magic. The villa began to shake and Gray stumbled back, his magic breaking before they reached their intended target. The mage smirked. "And our time is up but I will locate you again. Your magic is becoming stronger by the moment and must be monitored. We couldn't risk backlash, you see." he spoke. "Til next time, Gray Fullbuster!" The mage raised a hand and a blinding light engulfed the room, causing the ice mage to cover his eyes before a sharp sound echoed throughout the air around him, causing him to scream in pain from his enhanced hearing, eventually collapsing as he blacked out.

0

"...ray...Gray...Gray!" A voice called out through his muddled mind and he groaned softly as he moved to sit up before looking around, finding himself outside and the villa completely vanished from sight. Natsu ran down from the hill with Lucy and Erza following and he winced in pain as the fire wizard tackled him. "You bastard! Why'd you go and get everyone worked up about where you were?! I oughta...eep!" Natsu was halted mid tirade by Erza who snagged him by the scarf and tossed him back. "Are you alright, Gray?" she asked. "Not really...I was experimented on by that crazy ass mage...he inserted a dragon lacrima into me..." he murmured.

"A dragon lacrima!?" They all cried and he nodded. "What the hell, snow cone!? You're better than that!" Natsu snarled. "Quiet Natsu. This is a serious matter. This "friend" of the master must be planning something to do what he did to Gray. For now, we must get him back." Erza murmured as she helped the other male up. "Speaking of which...wasn't his villa supposed to be here?" Lucy pointed out as she looked around.

"It was...but he did something and probably moved it somewhere else." Gray murmured, checking his wrists and neck to find the controlling rings gone. "He's trying to make himself scarce so we can't find him easily."

"Then we got our work cut out for us. This man must be stopped and hopefully, can be forced to reverse what he has done to you without any terrible side effects." Erza said with determination.

"Alright! Let's head back and plan to find this bastard!" Natsu said as he ran off once more. Happy fluttered among the others and wondered...

"If Gray's a dragonslayer now...won't he get motion sick too?"

-few minutes later-

Erza, Happy and Lucy watched as both fell into a complete fetal position in their seat as they headed back to Magnolia. "You wimp...can't even handle a train..." Natsu mumbled. "Shut it...I don't want to hear that from you...of all people...slanty-eyes..." Gray spat back.

"Exhibitionist..."

"Flame-brain..."

"Snow cone..."

"Even ill, they still have the time to spit out insults at each other." Happy said with a soft laugh.

0

Zypher: Yeah, I hated how my second chapter turned out so I did a complete rewrite of the first and middle, leaving the humor of the ending in with a few slight changes. Hope this is more pleasing and I'm hoping to do more narrative than dialogue for the rest of the story. Attack translations still apply but they won't show up as soon. I rather have that for what will happen later.


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